Plum & pear pie without a soggy bottom

This was another winner and believe me the photo does not do the pie justice in terms of its deliciousness. Plus it doesn't reveal the relative simplicity of this pie recipe--but that's where I come in. The recipe for the crust (which goes only on top of the fruit-this is a bottomless pie!) calls for an egg, room temperature butter, and a great deal more sugar than that which you would typically use. As a result it doesn't boast the flakey texture of most pie crusts, but I really didn't miss it. I don't think anyone who tried this pie did either because it disappeared quickly! AND, the fact that I didn't have to worry about keeping the butter cold made it a dream to whip together (this one really is 'easy as pie' to make). My only regret was not having had ice or whipped cream to go along with the pie, but hey there's always next time.

I found this recipe on the smitten kitchen blog but the recipe was originally written by Nigel Slater. He explains that his idea for this pie was born out of the perpetual problem of juicy fruit in pies creating a soggy bottom. Here, the recipe avoids soggy bottoms by  eliminating the base pastry completely. He compensates for the lack of pastry down below by creating an extra thick pastry on top.

One final note: I substituted pears for apples in my pie. My sister in law suggested this, having tried the recipe herself and I have to say that I loved the texture of the pears along side the plums. Plus, I'm a total sucker for pears in pies in general. Having said that I do imagine that apples would taste really good in here too.

Plum and pear pie without a soggy bottom
Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater

For the top of the pie (the crust):


100 g of butter
100 g of sugar
one egg 
175 g of  flour (I used pastry flour), 
1/2 tsp of baking powder
a pinch of salt for flavor
milk for brushing the crust before baking


For the filling:
about 8-10 plums 
2 pears (or apples)
2-3 tbsp  of sugar
ground cinnamon,

Use a standing mixer to combine the butter and sugar until they become creamy in texture.

Beat the egg then mix in with butter and sugar. Now add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Roll dough into a ball and then place on a floured work surface. Knead for a minute or two until smooth and soft. Wrap in plastic wrap or stick in an air-tight container and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Set the oven at 180C. Cut the plums in half and remove pits.

Cut the fruit into large pieces, toss with the sugar and cinnamon and put into a lightly buttered 9 inch pie dish.

Roll out the pastry on a floured board, not paying too much attention to the shape, and then place on top of the fruit filling. It doesn't matter if the crust breaks as you place it on top of the fruit. Also you may want to cut a slit into the pastry to allow release of air during baking. Also, there will likely be an eruption of the juices onto the pastry which is a good thing, not a bad, and just contributes to the overall deliciousness.

Brush the pastry lightly with milk and bake for 40 minutes Dust with  sugar and serve warm with ice or whipped cream and don't count of leftovers.

Caramelized pear tart on a snow day

When I heard news of the impending snow storm I did what every respectable southerner does in the wake of such weather reports: I bee-lined it to the grocery store.

And I bought pears. Thank goodness we were already well stocked with milk because my grocery trip would have been pretty disappointing otherwise, given the lack thereof in the already ravaged dairy section.



I really needed those pears though, because there is no better day on which to bake a pie or tart than one on which you are snowed in and feeling cozy and longing for the smells of warm fruit and butter baking in the oven.


I'd been lusting after the recipe for this pear tart for some time--since I saw it on the fantastic pie devoted nothing-in-the-house blog. And let me tell you, this recipe did not disappoint. In fact, I have now declared this my favorite fruit pie/tart recipe of all time. It involves first caramelizing the pears in a cast-iron skillet on the stove top, followed by baking it upside down style, with the crust on top in the oven, and then flipping the whole thing to make the tart face right-side-up.



I really can't express how good this recipe is. The crust does not suffer from the soggy problem that plagues many other fruit pies, and much of the crust ends up with a caramel layer which is so delicious, I do not even have the words.



An added perk to all this is that the cooking process is very beautiful (or at least I found it so--this may be evidenced by the perhaps excessive number of pictures that I've included in this post). But really, starting with the pears themselves, which I think are a particularly nice looking fruit, even when they do have some bruising and spotting on them, and moving on to the process of watching the butter brown and mix with the sugar and then bubble around the pears as they caramelize...this is definitely a picture-worthy process!




CARAMELIZED UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR TART,

from the nothing-in-the house blog,
which she says she found in the Gourmet cookbook:

4 large firm yet ripe Bosc pears
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Recipe for one half of a pie crust (i.e. the bottom half)

Peel, halve, and core pears. Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts facing out. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook undisturbed, until sugar turns a deep golden caramel. (This can take 15- 25 minutes, depending on pears, skillets, and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 1/2- to 10 1/2-inch round. Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet. Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

Invert a rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate. Serve tart warm with vanilla whipped cream.